


Danny, Lindsay, and their Baby

by owenharpersgirl



Category: CSI: NY
Genre: Angst, F/M, Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-27
Updated: 2014-05-27
Packaged: 2018-01-26 19:42:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1700222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/owenharpersgirl/pseuds/owenharpersgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny and Lindsay were not planning on having a family, but when tragedy strikes can they, and the rest of the team, pull together and get through it? D/L M/S D/J</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Seriel Killer

**AT THE LAB:**

It seemed like a normal day in New York, but for the NYPD it was far from normal. It was a completely quiet day and they had absolutely no homicides to solve. Some people would think that the detectives would be thankful for that, but really they were all quite bored. It's not that they liked it when someone had been murdered, but right now they were all sitting around doing nothing.

"So, Messer, you wanna go to a game or something?" Detective Don Flack asked his friend and colleague, Detective Danny Messer.

"You aren't honestly suggesting we go and attempt to buy tickets to a game the day of the game are you Flack?" Danny asked, looking over at Flack with his eyebrows raised slightly, "Besides, I wanted to talk to you about something."

Just as the words were out of his mouth Stella Bonasera walked in the door.

"Sorry, am I interrupting something here?" she asked them.

"Nope, I need to talk to you too, so this works out really well," Danny told her.

"Uh oh, I don't like the sound of this. Danny needing to talk to both of us, what did you blow up Messer?" Flack asked, smirking at him.

"Nothing you wise ass, I wanna talk to both of you about Lindsay," Danny had grown suddenly serious as he said this so Flack and Stella knew he wasn't kidding around. Stella sat down next to Flack and looked at Danny with concern in her face.

"Is everything ok with you guys?" she asked him, worried that the best couple in the lab were falling apart.

"Yeah, yeah, everything's fine. But… I was thinking of maybe proposing to her, and, I wanted to know what you two thought of that."

"Danny that's great! When were you going to do this?" Stella asked.

"Well, I'm taking her to dinner tonight at The Four Seasons, so, I was thinking of doing it after that. She had said she liked walks so...." he trailed off looking at the other two who were both smiling.

"I'm gonna assume you have a ring for her then," Flack said.

"No duh, Mac's got it in his office for me." Flack and Stella were still smiling at him. Danny was going to propose! This was a big step for him; before Lindsay had moved to New York Danny had been determined to never get married.

"Hey!" The three of them looked out in the hall and saw Mac standing there.

"I know what you three are talking about," he said smiling, "But we've got a case and I need the three of you at the scene now." Danny, Stella, and Flack stood up and went out to Mac in the hall.

"Lindsay's already up there with Adam and Hawkes, and all the other divisions have got cases so the four of us are in one vehicle." The others looked at Mac like he was crazy, but didn't say anything. They all got their kits and walked out to the car.

 

**AT THE CRIME SCENE:**

"So, Hawkes, what have we got?" Adam asked him as he and Lindsay stood waiting for Hawkes to finish and tell them the COD. 

"Female with stab wounds to her abdomen, she bled out," he answered, Lindsay looked at her; she was a pretty girl with short brown hair that fell just above her shoulders. Late teens to early twenties. Too young to die. 

"We got an ID?" She asked him.

"Her name's Lexi Madison, she’s 21, from Chicago, probably either here on business or vacation, not betting on this I'm guessing. Her clothes are off; I'm thinking we've got a sex crime here too, not just a homicide." Hawkes said and Lindsay looked at the vic sadly   
remembering what had happened to her friends back in Bozeman. She was brought back to the present by Adam asking her if she was alright.

"Yeah, I'm fine," they were both looking at her, "Really you guys, I'm fine." They didn't press the matter any further. The three of them started to process the scene when Mac, Danny, Stella, and Flack arrived.

"Couldn't get another car?" Adam asked laughing at the sight of Danny and Flack getting out of the back. 

"No, now shut up and get back to work," Flack said as they walked over, smacking Adam on the head as he went by. The others laughed and went to work. After about an hour of processing the scene Mac got a call. ring ring ring 

"Taylor" Mac listened as the person on the other end of the line spoke, "Alright, yeah someone will be there right away." He hung up his phone and turned to the others. 

"We've got another crime scene to investigate," he said to them, "Danny, Lindsay, you two are with me." Danny and Lindsay got up and followed Mac over to the car. Mac got in the drivers side and Lindsay opened the passenger’s side door.

"How come I have to sit in the back again?" Danny asked her as she climbed in the front.

"Because you didn't open the door before I did," she told him smirking.

"Oh, fine, I see how it is then," he said as he shut the door. The others all laughed at the bickering and Hawkes called out a 'good luck' to Mac as they drove off.

 

**AT NEW CRIME SCENE:**

Mac, Lindsay, and Danny arrived at their new crime scene about twenty minutes later. They grabbed their kits and headed over to where the officers were standing waiting for them.

"What have we got?" Mac asked them.

"Vic is female, 23, shoulder length brownish hair, name is Lily Manning. She's got stab wounds to her abdomen and it looks like a sex crime was committed here too." The officer told them. Lindsay looked at Danny and Mac and knew that their shocked expressions must have reflected on her face as well.

"This is exactly like our first vic, everything is the same. You think this is some sort of serial killer?" she whispered the last bit to make sure no one but Danny and Mac could hear her.

"I dunno Montana, but it's starting to look that way, isn't it?” ring ring ring 

"Messer," he paused listening, "You’re kidding right, that sounds like our current and first vic. Yeah I agree with you Flack, alright, yeah we'll see you guys back at the lab." He hung up his phone and looked at the other two.

"Apparently not long after we left, Flack and Stella were called to another scene. Vic was female with shoulder length brownish hair, she was 24 and her name was Lyla Millegan. Flack said that it also looked like a sex crime. I've got to agree with Montana on this one Mac, I think we've got a serial." 

"It would appear so. Alright, let's process the scene and get back to the lab." Mac told them. They processed for almost two hours and finally decided to head back to the lab. When they got there Flack, Stella, Adam, and Hawkes were talking about their cases. The other three walked in and sat down listening to what Stella was saying.

"...definitely serial, three vics in one day, all with the same description." She looked at Mac, Danny, and Lindsay, Mac and Lindsay looked disgusted. Danny on the other hand looked worried.

"Something bothering you Danny? Besides this case?" Stella asked him.

"All three of these vics have shoulder length brownish hair, are in their early twenties, and are female," He said looking at them.

"Thanks Danno, but we all already know that." Flack told him looking a little confused as to why Danny would point out the obvious.

"No, not just that, all three vics have the initials L.M.” He looked over at Lindsay whose face had gone paler.

"Oh my god, Lindsay, you don't think he'll go after her do you Mac?" Stella asked looking over at him.

"I dunno, but until we catch this guy, I don't want you going anywhere by yourself, you understand Lindsay?" Mac told her knowing full well Danny wouldn't let her out of his sight unless he had to.

"Yeah Mac, I got it."

"Good, well, c'mon people, sitting around doing nothing isn't gonna catch this guy." They all got up to go and examine the things they'd found at the crime scene. Danny stopped Lindsay from going and turned her around to face him. He could see that she was scared.

"Montana, I'm not gonna let anything happen to you, alright, I promise." he looked at her with that sparkle in his eye and she knew he meant it. She was safe as long as she was with Danny. Lindsay nodded her head and they left to go get to work.


	2. Lindsay in Danger

**TWO WEEKS LATER:**

They had been working on the serial case for two weeks now and still had nothing. They'd had four more victims; all had brownish hair, stab wounds to the abdomen, were in their early twenties, and had the initials L.M. The longer this case went on, the more Danny worried. He was concerned this guy would go after Lindsay and he didn't know what he would do if anything happened to her. She was his whole world, and, Danny didn't know it, but his world was about to come crashing down around him.

Lindsay was out driving alone as she had managed to slip away from the rest of the team. She knew it was stupid to be out alone, but she needed space, even if it meant Danny killing her later. She was driving along the road when her phone rang. When she answered it, the person on the other end told her that they had found another body. 

"Great," she said in a sarcastic tone, "Alright, contact Danny Messer and Stella Bonesera, and wait there for me."

"Will do detective," the officer answered. She hung up her phone not knowing she was heading right into a trap. She kept driving until she got to the park where she had been told the other body had been found. She got out of the car and walked down the path. Lindsay didn't understand why there was no officer here, and no body. She was about to turn around and head back to the car and find out what sort of sick joke this was when someone grabbed her from behind and pulled her into the forest.

She tried to scream, but whoever it was kept a hand over her mouth. She struggled against her captor until she felt something sharp stuck in her arm. She knew immediately that whoever this was had drugged her. Lindsay felt her clothes being removed, felt his hands against her body. She wanted to cry out, get someone to help her, but she couldn't. She wanted Danny, her Danny, to come and stop this guy. She saw his face, his sick face; it was filled with a look of pleasure. This sick Son of a Bitch was enjoying doing this to her. He stopped what he was doing and pulled out a knife; he looked at her then plunged it once, twice, and finally a third and final time into her abdomen. She felt the pain, but couldn't scream. All she wanted to do was scream.

He ran, and all Lindsay could do was lie there and feel the blood trickling down her side. She knew she could die, but she had to stay strong. She knew Danny would find her. He would find her and they would catch the man that did this; to her and all other those women. They would catch him; she would stay alive. She had seen his face.

**MAC'S OFFICE:**

"Where is she?" Danny asked Flack, "She wasn't supposed to go out alone."

"I dunno man, she probably wanted time alone. She's probably been feeling kinda, you know, watched lately. I know it's for a good reason but you know how she is better than any of us." Flack told him. They were all worried about Lindsay, but they were trying to stay calm for Danny's sake. He was about to respond when an officer came into Mac's office. 

"Excuse me detectives, but another body was found, alive."

"Alive? Where was the body found?" Hawkes asked.

"In a forest by the park," the officer answered him.

"Do you have an ID on the vic?" Mac asked. The officer looked down and nodded.

"What is it? What’s the vics ID?" Mac asked, growing concerned.

"It's Detective Monroe," he said, sounding apologetic.

"No," they heard a strangled whisper and looked over at Danny. He was near tears and looking at the officer, begging him to say he was only kidding around.

"Did they take her to the hospital?" Mac asked him.

"Yes, Saint Mercy hospital, it was definitely the same guy. She had stab wounds to her abdomen, and her clothes..." Flack interrupted him,

"Alright, thank you." He turned to Danny and said, "Danno, it's gonna be fine ok? We're gonna go down to that hospital now, she'll be fine." Danny nodded his head slightly and stood up. The others stood and walked out of the room. Danny and Flack were the last out of the room and Flack put his hand on Danny's shoulder and squeezed. He knew it might not be alright, but he had to tell Danny it was. He had to give Danny some hope. They walked outside, Mac, Stella, Hawkes, and Adam got into one of the work Hummers, and Flack, Angell, and Danny got into the other.

 

**THE HOSPITAL:**

The ride to hospital was quiet; Danny stared out the window and didn't say a word the whole time. He was scared; scared he was going to lose his Lindsay, his Montana. He promised himself that he would find whoever had done this. He would find him, and kill the son of a bitch. As soon as they pulled up to the hospital, Danny got out of the car and started walking across the parking lot. 

"Please let her be ok, please let her be ok," he thought all the way into the hospital. When he got to the front desk the woman asked if she could help him, but he froze. Mac told them they were looking for Lindsay Monroe and the receptionist told them she was in room 74B on the seventh floor.

"Is she awake?" Stella asked.

"You'd have to ask her doctor. There he is, over there," she pointed over their shoulders to a man looking at a chart and talking to another doctor. They walked over to him and waited until he was done talking. After what felt like forever, he turned around to face them and asked if he could help.

"Yes, you’re Lindsay Monroe's doctor?" Mac asked him.

"Monroe, Monroe, ah yes, the NYPD detective, yes I'm her doctor." he said.

"We were just wondering if she was awake yet." Adam told him.

"Yes she's awake, and completely terrified. She keeps asking for Danny, and I'm going to assume one of you is Danny." he asked them.

"That would be me," Danny said in a voice so quiet it was almost missed. The doctor nodded sympathetically and left. Mac, Stella, Adam, Danny, Flack, Angell, and Hawkes walked over to elevator and got in. They headed up to the seventh floor and went to room 74B. Angell opened the door and they walked in.


	3. Surprise

**LINDSAY'S ROOM:**

Danny walked in first, and what he saw broke his heart. Lindsay was sitting up in the hospital bed shaking. The doctor was right, she was completely terrified. She looked at Danny and he saw tears running down her face. They walked over to her and Danny sat down next to her on the bed. She immediately collapsed into his arms, crying. He held her tightly and told her over and over again that it was going to be alright. He kissed the top of her head and she looked at the others, still holding Danny, too afraid to let him go.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Sorry?" Stella said confused by what her friend was saying, "What are you sorry for?"

"This wouldn't have happened if I’d stayed with one of you."

"Lindsay, it was a matter of time before this guy could have found a way to get to you, this is not your fault," Stella told her.

"Stella's right Lindsay, no matter how much we don't want to admit it, there's no way we could have been with you 24/7," Mac said. She just nodded her head, not looking at any of them. 

"I felt so helpless; I couldn't do anything to get him away from me." Lindsay said as tears started running down her face again. She looked at them and they could see the look of helpless look in her eyes.

"Lindsay, I know it's the last thing you probably wanna talk about right now, but did you see the guy that did this to you?" Flack asked her. She nodded her head slowly. 

"Do you remember what he looked like?" he asked her, looking at her sadly.

"I dunno, I sort of do, I've seen him before. He was in lockup two weeks ago. I remember seeing him in one of the cells when we went down there to interrogate one of the prisoners."

"That'll make it easier to find the guy, we just get the records of the men that got out of there in the past two weeks," Angell said and they all nodded their heads in agreement.

"I'm sorry to have to interrupt," a nurse said, walking into the room, “But we have some news for you. Now, if you're seeing someone this might not be so bad, but we got the results from the rape kit and one of the tests came back positive."

Lindsay's face paled and she asked "What test?"

"The pregnancy test," the nurse replied, "Now like I said, if you're seeing someone and you've been trying for a baby then this might not be so bad. The baby could be your boyfriend’s; after it's born you can do a paternity test if you want to." The nurse looked at her for a moment then turned and left the room. Everyone in the room was quiet, and then Mac said, "We'll leave you two alone for a bit. We'll be back later Lindsay."

Lindsay nodded as she sat there, still holding onto Danny. They all left the room and walked down the hall toward the elevator. Lindsay turned her head and looked at Danny for a moment before she broke down. She hated crying, especially in front of other people. But now she didn't care who saw her. She was going to have a baby and she had no idea if it was her boyfriend’s or the man that raped her. She buried her head in Danny’s shoulder and he sat there, rocking her as she cried.

"Danny – Danny – I can't – I can't get rid of the baby… I'm sorry but I could never do that." She managed to get out between her sobs.

"Shhh, I know, I know you could never do that Montana. I would never ask you to." She looked up at him and gave him a small smile.

"If you want me to, I'll be there for you and the baby; if you want to get a paternity test then we can do that. But even if a test says that the baby isn't mine, I'll still be there. I'll take care of this little guy or girl, like he or she is mine because if you want it to be, this baby is mine." He finished saying this and she nodded her head.

"I want that more than anything," she told him. He leaned over and kissed her.

"You should sleep; I'm not going anywhere so you're not going to wake up alone." She nodded her head and lied down and closed her eyes. Danny got up and moved over the chair next to her bed, he sat and looked at her; she looked so vulnerable lying there like that. That wasn't the Lindsay he knew. His Lindsay, his Montana, was a wise ass; she was tough. But now, she was scared, and he had to make sure he was there for her.

 

**TWO MONTHS LATER:**

"Danny come on! We're going to be late!" Lindsay called down the hall. She was two months along in her pregnancy and was indeed more embracing to the thought of motherhood. The first little while had been rough; Danny and Lindsay had talked a lot about the idea of being parents. Lindsay had also talked to Stella and Angell about it; they were both really supporting and assured her that she and Danny would be great parents. She knew Danny had talked with Mac, Flack, Hawkes, and Adam about it too, and he had been told the same things she had. At first she and Danny had wondered about it all: What would it be like? Would they be good at it? But then after that first month they'd had no doubt in the world that everything would be fine. They were on their way to get their first sonogram and they couldn't wait. At that moment, Danny walked into the room pulling his shirt over his head.

"How is it that you take longer to get ready than I do?" Lindsay asked him smirking.

"Well excuse me ‘Ms. I Think I'll Take Forever in the Shower’, He said also smirking. Lindsay stuck her tongue out at him and took his hand.

"Well we're gonna be late now," she said.

"Don't worry Montana, we'll get there in time." Danny smiled; she was so excited to finally be able to see the baby. Their baby. He had to admit, he was excited too. They walked down from their apartment to the car and got in. Danny started the car and they pulled out onto the street.

"You know, I've been thinking. Do you want to know the sex of the baby?" She asked him. Danny glanced sideways at her and then turned his gaze back to the road.

"I dunno. I mean, I wouldn't mind knowing, but, I also wouldn't mind waiting. Do you want to know?"

"I kind of wanted to wait," she told him, "I just think it'll be a nice surprise when he or she is born. That that's when we find out if we have a little boy or girl." Danny smiled at this.

"Okay," he said, "Let’s wait then. I like that thought too." The rest of the ride was silent, and twenty minutes later, they were pulling into the parking lot of the clinic. They got out of the car and started walking across the lot toward the doors; Danny reached out and took Lindsay's hand in his own. The walked up to the front desk and were told to wait until their name was called. Five minutes later a nurse came out.

"Messer!" she called. Danny and Lindsay stood up and walked through the door the nurse had indicated. She followed them through the door and then said, "The doctor will be in here in a minute." Then she turned and left them alone. Lindsay walked over to the little table like bed in the middle of the room and got up on it and a moment later, the doctor walked in.

"Alright, Lindsay. I'm Doctor Sanfield. Let's get started, shall we?" Lindsay nodded her head and leaned back. Danny walked up to wear her head was and smiled at her. The doctor pulled Lindsay's shirt up to see her stomach and placed the gel on it. Lindsay shuttered slightly.

"Sorry, I know it's cold." Dr. Sanfield said smiling. She turned the machine on and placed the stick on her stomach.

"There," Dr. Sanfield said as she pointing at the screen, "Is your baby." Danny and Lindsay both smiled as they saw what the doctor was pointing at. It was tiny, but it was there.

"Would you like to know the sex of your baby?" Danny and Lindsay both shook their heads.

"We want to wait," Lindsay told her. The doctor nodded her head and turned off the machine and handed Lindsay a cloth to wipe off the gel.

"Thank you," she said to the doctor, handing back the cloth.

"Not a problem, come back next month for another appointment. We'll call you in a few days to arrange an appointment time. Now here you go," she handed them a picture of the scan. "Go show it to your friends that want to know how it's all going." They laughed and left the room.

"Ready to go to work?" Danny asked her.

"Yup, ready to be bombarded with questions?"

"Oh ya," Danny said in a sarcastic voice. Lindsay laughed and hand in hand, they walked back to their car to go to work.

**AT THE LAB:**

"I'm not just going to drop the case!" Mac said to Chief Sinclair in a ringing voice.

"Oh yes you will. I'm your boss and I'm telling you to drop it. I know you and your team have got a personal connection with this case, what with the attack on Detective Monroe. But you've been searching for eight weeks now and you need to forget about this guy. There are killers out there now and we don't have the teams or the equipment to continue with this case any longer." Then, before Mac could reply, Chief Sinclair turned and walked out of Mac's office, just as Stella walked in.

"What was that about?" she asked him.

"We've been told to drop the serial rapist case," he told her still fuming.

"What?! How does the Chief expect us to just drop it? After what happened to all those women, after what happened to Lindsay?"

"I know, I know. But he says we don't have enough forensic equipment to keep up with this. It's to go into the unsolved pile and we're just supposed to move on."

"Mac, if the baby turns out to be the serial rapist's, and not Danny's. None of us will ever forget this."

"I know. But we have to, and speaking of Danny and Lindsay, there they are. Come on, let's go and find out how the little Messer is doing shall we?" Stella nodded her head and followed Mac out of the office.

"Hey you two," she said, "How is everything?"

"It's good, it's really good," Lindsay told both of them smiling. She took out the photo they had been given and handed it to them. Mac and Stella looked at it and then beamed at Danny and Lindsay.

"Do you know the sex of the baby?" Stella asked them. They both shook their heads.

"We want to wait," Danny told both of them. They all stood there for another minute then Mac got a call telling them about a murder.

"Alright, let's go." Then the four of them walked out to their cars and headed to the crime scene.

**THREE MONTHS LATER:**

Lindsay woke with a start, she was tired, uncomfortable, and could not understand why she had woken up. She looked over at the clock and saw it was 2:17am. Lindsay sat up slowly and with some difficulty, she was five months pregnant and had a baby bump. Though she was still doing field work much to Danny's annoyance.

_Flashback_

_"Danny, I'll be fine, I'm not going to go to any crime scenes alone, and I won't go deliberately to any shootings" she told him._

_"I know that Montana, but I still don't like the idea of you being out in the field like this," he was clearly worried about her and she was thinking that if he didn't give in to her, she would just go and find Mac to convince him instead._

_"Danny, I promise you right now, I will be fine. Please, trust me. Please," she looked at him, pleading him to believe her._

_"Ok, and I always trust you, I just worry about you." He smiled at her as he said it and she smiled back._

_End Flashback_

She put a hand on her abdomen and swung her legs over the side of the bed putting her feet on the floor. She leaned over slightly and put her head in hands breathing heavily. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder; she jumped and turned to see Danny looking at her, worry written all over her face.

"Montana, what's wrong?" he asked moving so he was sitting next to her on the bed.

"I dunno, I'm just so uncomfortable right now," she said, a tear escaping her eye. She hated being so hormonal, her emotions were everywhere lately. He pulled her close to him so she was leaning into his chest.

"I know you are,” he told her quietly. He started rubbing her back slowly and she leaned forward again, she closed her eyes and relaxed. He stopped and she sat up, she saw that it was now 2:31am.

"Feel any better?" he asked her. She nodded her head, wishing she hadn't as a sudden wave of nausea swept over her. She stood up and went as fast as she could to the washroom. Danny followed her and held her hair back as she vomited violently; she coughed and leaned back against him. He kissed her head and wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her abdomen slowly.

"Come on," he said getting up and holding out his hand, "Let's get back to bed." He helped her stand up and they walked slowly back to bed. Danny helped her lie down and climbed in next to her. She rolled over onto her side and Danny snuggled up next to her; he kissed her neck and she giggled softly. Lindsay fell asleep shortly after, but Danny laid there for a few minutes listening to her breathing softly and slowly. His hand was still on her abdomen and he felt the baby kick. He smiled to himself, thinking that things were perfect. It hadn't started out the way they thought it would, their family hadn't started out as planned. But now, things were good. It would be Danny, Lindsay, and their baby.

**AT SULLIVAN'S BAR:**

Mac, Stella, Danny, Lindsay, Adam, Hawkes, Flack, and Angell were all sitting at a booth in Sullivan's Bar talking and laughing. Stella and the boys each had a beer, Lindsay was drinking water and so was Angell as she and Don had just announced that they were expecting. Everyone was laughing and having a good time, but when Lindsay looked over to the door she saw him. Immediately she went pale and leaned closer to Danny. Everyone noticed and became concerned.

"Lindsay, you ok?" Hawkes asked her, she shook her head, fear in her eyes.

"That's him," she whispered, staring at the door, "That's the guy, the one who…" her hand went to her stomach and everyone immediately knew what she was talking about. This was the guy that had done this to Lindsay, the guy that had killed those women five months ago, this was the guy they had spent weeks searching for. He had gone silent after he attacked Lindsay and they had had no luck with who was released from prison. There had been seven guys released in that time, four of who looked relatively the same and Lindsay was unable to ID just one of them. Danny put his arm around Lindsay protectively and Mac and Flack stood up.

"Stella, call for a car to come down here so they can pick him up," Mac told her. She nodded her head, pulled out her phone and started dialing.

"Excuse me, sir?" Flack said as he and Mac walked towards him. He saw them coming over to him and then he saw Lindsay over their shoulder and ran.

"HEY!" Mac yelled as he and Flack ran after him. The man ran down the street and then turned down an alley, Mac and Flack hot on his tail. They turned down the alley and saw the man trying to get over the fence, Flack ran at him and jumped on him, pinning him to the ground. The man cried out as Flack brought his arms behind his back and cuffed him. He stood up and Mac helped to get the guy up.

"You know what I hate more than a guy that attacks my friend?" Flack said to him, "A guy that attacks my friend then makes me chase him. Let’s go." Mac and Flack held onto him as they walked back. There was a patrol car waiting there for them and as they walked by Lindsay he leaned over and brushed against her. She recoiled and backed farther into Danny, Mac and Flack gave him a jerk and handed him over to the patrol officer. They turned to look at Lindsay and smiled at her, she returned the smile with scared eyes.

"It's over Lindsay, he's gone. He's gonna be in a cell for the rest of his life, we'll make sure of it.”


	4. Nursery Room Time

**MESSER APARTMENT:**

Danny was standing in the kitchen making breakfast for himself and Lindsay while she was sitting on a stool near the island in their kitchen filling out some paperwork.

"You know, we really should start painting a nursery soon," she said to Danny, looking up from her papers. "I mean, we've only got one month left before the baby gets here and this really should have been done ages ago." Danny turned and looked at her nodding his head.

"Yeah I know. Well, the lab is closed for the next couple of days, you know, with the reconstruction and everything being done. So how about we start tomorrow?"

"Sure, what colour are we going to paint it? As we don't know if the baby is a boy or girl I don’t really want to paint it pink or blue as they’re the typical colours. Also, I refuse to paint it red. I can't stand that colour." Danny laughed and nodded his head.

"Alright, so pink, blue, and red are out, and I really don't want to do it yellow. It seems like everyone paints their kids room yellow is they don't know if it's a boy or girl." Lindsay laughed and then thought for a moment.

"I’m not crazy about purple either,” Lindsay said, “But what about green?" Danny considered for a minute as he got out plates and put two pancakes on a plate for Lindsay and then two for himself.

"Yeah, yeah green is a good colour."

"Alright, then we'll go out today and get the paint and everything else we're gonna need. Then tomorrow we can start painting." She took a bite of her pancake and looked at Danny who agreed to this idea. When they were done eating and had put their dishes in the dishwasher they went and got dressed. After this, they headed down to their car and left for the store. When they stopped at the light, Danny leaned over and took a CD out of the glove compartment, he put it in a turned it up slightly.

"AC/DC, really Danny?"

"Hey come on, what's wrong with a little AC/CD?" Lindsay put her hand on her stomach and laughed.

"Apparently nothing, the baby seems to like it." The rest of the ride was relatively quiet, Lindsay was slowly rubbing her stomach and staring out the window when the pulled up to the paint store. They went inside and looked around for a minute before going toward one of the isles.

"I don't want something too dark, but it shouldn't be too light either," Lindsay told Danny who nodded his head in agreement. They eventually found a green that they both agreed was perfect. Danny carried the two cans up to the counter and paid for it. They headed home and were just walking in the door when the phone rang.

"Danny I'm sorry, but could you get it?" Lindsay asked him.

"Yeah sure," Danny said smiling as Lindsay walked down the hall. He walked over to the phone and picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Hey Danno," Flack said, "How'd you like to join Mac, Adam, Hawkes, and myself at Sullivan's Bar for a few drinks? Jess and Stella want to get together with Lindsay. So, what do you say?"

"Yeah sure, but I'm not drinking alcohol. Lindsay can't drink it so I've given it up until after the baby's born."

"Yeah no problem, I'm doing the same thing. Mac and Adam have got big news. So…See you in about half an hour?"

"Yeah, see you then." Danny hung up the phone and turned to see Lindsay standing there watching him.

"What's going on?" she asked, walking forward and wrapping her arms around him. He rested his chin on her head and wrapped his arms around her too.

"Stella and Angell are going to come by soon and then I'm heading out to meet Mac, Don, Adam, and Hawkes. Apparently Mac and Adam have both got news to tell us." She nodded her head and inhaled his scent before tilting her head up and kissing his jaw. She took her hands and pulled his face down to hers, pressing her lips against his. Danny pulled away.

"Whoa, Montana, what's up with you?"

"We've got about twenty minutes, I hurt everywhere, and I just want to sit on the couch and kiss you," she said. Danny wasn't sure what to say. Lindsay was being totally truthful when she said this and he was not about to say no to kissing his girlfriend. Danny looked at her for another moment before leading her over to the couch and continued the kiss. They sat there with each other like that for twenty minutes until Danny finally looked at the clock.

"Linds, I gotta go. ‘Sides, Stella and Angell will be here soon." Lindsay groaned, but nodded her head all the same. She sat up straight and looked at Danny.

"I wish Flack hadn't called, I just want to stay here with you."

"I know, but we'll continue tonight okay? I won't be out late." He got up and kissed the top of his head before heading to their bedroom to get his coat. He had just picked it up when Lindsay called his name.

“Danny!”

“Yeah? What is it Montana?” he asked looking for his keys.

“You may want to call Flack and cancel those plans.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because I’m having the baby.” It took Danny a second to process what she had just said before he hurried out of the room to see her standing next to the couch leaning on it for support, one hand on her stomach. He hurried over to her and helped her sit on the couch.

“Are you sure this is real?” he asked her. She nodded her head looking at him.

“Alright, you just hang on one minute okay? I’ll call Stella and tell her what’s happening and she can call Mac to tell him where I am alright?” Lindsay nodded her head as she leaned back into the couch. Danny went over to the phone, picked it up, and dialed Stella’s cell.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Stel, it’s me. Listen Lindsay’s having the baby so I’m taking her to the hospital. Can you call Mac and tell him what’s happening?”

“Yeah sure Danny, I’ll call him and then we’ll head over to the hospital.” He hung up the phone and went back over to Lindsay.

“Alright, come on. We’re gonna head to the hospital now okay?” She nodded head and he helped her stand up. They walked out of the apartment, down to the car, and left for the hospital.

**THE HOSPITAL:**

About 45 minutes later they pulled into the parking lot. Lindsay’s contractions had become a lot worse and were much closer together.

“I wish traffic hadn’t been so bad, we would’ve been here sooner.” She laughed slightly and they went inside. Lindsay was put into a wheelchair and placed in a room.

“You’ll need to change into this,” the nurse said holding out a blue hospital gown, “You might want your husband to help you.” Then she turned and left the room, pulling the curtain around Lindsay’s bed as she went. Danny helped Lindsay change and get into the bed. She had just gotten settled when another contraction hit.

“Ah, Danny,” she said squeezing her eyes shut.

“Shhh, it’ll pass Montana. It’ll pass,” he said quietly running his thumb over her hand. Lindsay was in labor for seven hours. Stella and Mac had both gone in to see them and find out how Lindsay was, but they hadn’t stayed long because the doctor had gone in to check on her. Then, finally, Danny and Lindsay welcomed their little boy into the world.

“Hi, hi there little man,” Lindsay said after the nurse handed him to her.

“So, are we going with the name we agreed for a boy?” Danny asked. Lindsay nodded her head and suggested he go and get the team. Danny left the room and went to the waiting area.

“It’s a boy,” he told them and they got up and hugged him.

“How’s Lindsay?” Hawkes asked.

“She’s good; she wants to see you guys.” They all followed Danny down the hall and into Lindsay’s room. This was the second time they were visiting her in the hospital. But this time it was much happier, for all of them. Lindsay was in there holding the baby and Danny went over and sat next to her.

“Hey, congratulations,” Angell said.

“Thanks,” Lindsay said smiling.

“Does he have a name?” Flack asked them. Danny and Lindsay nodded.

“This is Joshua Louie Messer,” Lindsay told them.

“We’re really happy for you guys,” Stella told them, “But it’s late and you’re probably tired so we should go.” The others agree with her but before they left Lindsay remembered something.

“Wait, Danny said that Mac and Adam had something to tell everyone,” Lindsay said.

“Yeah what is this news?” Flack asked. Stella and Mac glanced at each other first and Mac nodded.

“I’m pregnant,” Stella told them all. Her words were met with more congratulations and hugs.

“Alright, everyone knows our news now, Adam?” Everyone turned to look at him as Mac said this.

“What, are you pregnant too?” Flack quipped.

“Ha ha, very funny,” Adam said sarcastically. He took a deep breathe and then took a picture of a small boy out of his wallet and showed them all.

“This is Jackson. His mom was a vic in a case a while back and his dad died shortly before he was born.” They were all looking at him expectantly, waiting for more explanation.

“Jackson’s uncle won’t take him and he has no other family, so, I’ve decided to adopt him.” Adam finished saying this and looked at the others who were all staring at him.

“Really?” Lindsay asked from her bed.

“Yeah, really,” he said. He looked at them all waiting to hear what they thought.

“Adam that’s amazing,” Mac told him. Everyone agreed and they all hugged and congratulated him.

“Alright, now we really should go,” Stella said noticing Lindsay yawning. They all said goodbye and left Danny and Lindsay on their own with their new baby boy.

“I’ll be right back okay?” Danny said taking Josh from her arms and placing him in the bassinet next to her bed. She nodded her head and closed her eyes, exhausted. Danny left the room and went down the hall.

“Flack!” he called running down the all to catch up with them. Flack turned around and Danny ran up to him.

“Listen, I need a favor. Lindsay and I were going to do the room for the baby tomorrow and I was wondering if-“

“If me, Mac, Adam, Hawkes, and Sid could help and get it ready as a surprise for Lindsay?” Flack said. Danny nodded his head and Flack laughed.

“Sure Messer, no problem, and congratulations again by the way.” Flack walked away and Danny went back to Lindsay room. She was still awake and Danny knew what he had to do now. He walked over to the bag in the corner of the room and heard Lindsay sit up in bed behind him. He turned and walked back over to the bad, she was watching him with a puzzled look on her face.

“I couldn’t sleep, I wanted to wait until you were back in the room,” she told him and he sat down on the edge of her bed. He just nodded his head and looked at her.

“It’s Valentines Day,” he said.

“Now we have more than love to celebrate on this day huh?” she said smiling. He nodded and then got down on one knee next to her bed. He took and deep breath and looked at her.

“Lindsay, ever since the day I saw you, I’ve loved you. I know I can be a total pain in the ass sometimes, but I’m trying. I hear the lab techs saying things about us all the time at work. Saying that we can’t be a proper family because of what happened eight months ago. I want you to know that we will be a proper family. You, me, and Josh. So, Lindsay Monroe, Montana. Will you marry me?” He finished talked and opened a box with a small ring in it. She was speechless, but then after she realized it wasn’t a dream she only had one thing to say…


	5. Bringing Josh Home

**LINDSAY’S HOSPITAL ROOM:**

“Yes,” she said, looking him straight in the eye, “Yes, I will marry you.” Danny’s face broke into a huge smile and he stood up. He sat on the edge of her bed and took Lindsay’s hand in his own as he placed the ring gently on her finger.

“I love you Danny,” she said.

“I love you too Ms. Monroe soon to be Mrs. Messer.” They both laughed and then Danny told Lindsay that she needed rest and to get some sleep. She lied down and closed her eyes, knowing that everything was good now. The two of them were engaged and had Josh, Flack and Angell were having a baby soon, Mac and Stella were expecting, and Adam was adopting a little boy. Yes, everything was perfect. The next day, Lindsay awoke to see Danny holding Josh and talking to Flack. When he noticed she was awake he smiled at her.

“Hey Linds, I understand more congratulations are in order.” He was smiling at her and looked back at Danny. Lindsay smiled too.

“Thanks Don,” she said and then turned to Danny, “Any idea of when we can go home?”

“Yeah, the doctor said we can take this little guy home today.” Lindsay’s smile grew wider at the thought that they were getting to bring their son home. Don said goodbye to them and left saying he had to get back to work. There was just one thing they had to do before taking him home. The DNA test, to see if Josh really was a little Messer. It didn’t matter to Danny or Lindsay, either way he was Danny’s son, but for medical purposes they had to find out. The nurse came in and took a little bit of Josh’s blood. The new parents waited anxiously for the test results and when a nurse finally came in holding papers they both held their breath. The nurse looked at them first and then spoke.

“Congratulations, Josh is your son, both of you.” They both let their breath out and looked at the nurse. She gave them the release papers and congratulated them again and then they were on their way home. Danny secured Josh in the carrying seat and then helped Lindsay in the back of the car so she could sit with him and make sure everything was alright. As they were driving Lindsay thought of something.

“Danny, what about the nursery, we’re not ready at all for him to come home.”

“Relax, it’s dealt with.” She still wasn’t sure but decided to see what Danny meant so she kept quiet. They arrived home and Lindsay got out of the car and grabbed her bag from the truck. Danny got Josh’s seat out of the car and carried him up to their apartment. Lindsay went down the hall and saw that the door to the nursery was closed; she put her bag down on their bed and went into the living room. Danny was getting Josh out of the seat and holding him close, he looked up when she entered the room.

“I was gonna give him the tour and thought we could all start in his room.” Lindsay nodded her head, eager to see it. They walked down the hall and Lindsay opened the door, she gasped and stepped into the room. It was exactly how she’d imagined it; it was painted green and had a crib in the corner with a wooden sign above it that said Josh. There was a changing table against the wall and a rocking chair in the corner. A dresser was across from the crib on the other wall and there was a mobile hanging above the crib. Lindsay’s eyes filled with tears as she looked at it.

“This is why you ran out of the room yesterday isn’t it?” she asked him. Danny smiled and nodded, swaying back and forth slightly to keep Josh from crying.

“I knew I wouldn’t have time to come home and do it, not that I would’ve left anyway. So I asked Flack if he could help out. So, yesterday, Flack, Adam, Hawkes, Sid, and Mac came over and painted it while Stella and Angell went out and got a crib and everything else.” Lindsay walked over to the crib and ran her hand along it; she turned to see Danny following her into the room.

“They’re gonna come over later, that way we can all talk and find out more about the little Flack and Taylor on the way.”

“Don’t forget the little Ross,” Lindsay said and Danny laughed.

“Wow, we’re all really moving on aren’t we? Even Adam’s growing up.” Lindsay laughed as Danny placed Josh gently into the crib. They both stood there for a few moments watching him sleep before they decided to go and get ready for their company later. Flack, Angell, and the others all arrived a few hours later and they found out that Flack and Angell were also having a little boy.

“Wow, well Mac, Stella, if you guys have a boy too, it is going to be very busy,” Hawkes said to them. They all laughed and thought about it. Josh Messer, baby Flack, Jackson Ross, and baby Taylor. There were definitely three boys, possibly four. They also found out that Jackson was three months; Adam didn’t know anything about his family as they hadn’t wanted to be a part of it. None of them stayed long because they figured Danny and Lindsay would want to get settled with Josh being home.

**FIVE MONTHS LATER:**

It had been five months since Josh had been brought home and he now had a routine. Angell was now eight months along, Stella was five months, and Adam had been Jackson’s adoptive dad for four months now. The paper work had taken a long time but when he finally got to go and live with Adam it had been worth it. Adam was happier, that was obvious, and Jackson was now eight months old. He had started sitting up on his own and was crawling around a lot more.  
Adam’s sister helped out a lot and would babysit Jackson for him when he had to work, but Mac had decided that unless he really needed Adam there he could come in around lunch time. The whole team knew that Don and Jess were having a boy but they still didn’t know about Mac and Stella.

“So, do you know?” Danny asked when Stella and Mac walked into the conference room of the lab smiling.

“It’s a girl,” Stella said and everyone got up and hugged her and Mac.

“Congratulations you guys,” Angell said to them.

“Well, you should all go home and get some sleep, this has been a tough case and we could use a rest,” Mac told them all and they all got up to head home.


	6. Attack and Discovery

**THE PARKING GARAGE:**

Danny walked across the parking lot to his car. He smiled to himself as he thought about what was waiting for him at home. Danny was almost at his car when he was suddenly grabbed from behind. He struggled against his attacker but it was no good. It had been a long day and he was tired, he had no energy to fight this guy off. The guy kicked his shin and Danny stumbled over as he continued to struggle. Danny felt pulling around the side of his belt and knew his gun had been removed. He received a sharp blow to the head and then his attacker brought his foot down on Danny’s hand.

He could feel the blood running down his face from the wound in his head; it was running over his mouth and onto the ground. He spit, trying to get the taste out of his mouth. Then there was a sharp jab at the side of his neck and everything started to go hazy. He thought about Lindsay and knew she'd be wondering where he was if he wasn't home soon. If he didn't show up to work everyone would wonder where he was, they would know something was up. But what if they thought he'd taken the day to sleep? These thoughts continued to run through his head until the drug over took him and he faded off into sleep.

 

Sid was walking across the parking lot. It had been a long day for everyone and he, like the rest of the team, could not wait to get home. Their investigation started at a museum where a woman had been found in one of the displays being eaten by beetles. What made it worse was that their only witness had been a five year old boy, who just happened to be Reed Garrett, Claire’s son. Sid knew this case had been especially hard on Mac as he now had to figure out what was going to happen to the little boy who refused to tell them where his parents were. Sid was almost at his car when something caught his eye, something red. He walked over to it and gasped. Blood. Shining, wet blood. He got out his phone and called Mac's number.

"Taylor"

"Mac it's me, I think we've got a problem. Can you come down to the parking lot now?"

"Sure Sid, I'll be right down."

"Ok, and bring Stella, Flack, Adam, and Hawkes with you."

"Alright"

Sid hung up his phone and waited. Whoever's blood this was had to be in a lot of trouble, not to mention a lot of danger. Sid looked up at the sound of approaching feet and saw Mac, Stella, Flack, Hawkes, and Adam running towards him.

"Sid, what is it?" Mac asked him, worried and Sid looked down at the blood.

"I was heading to my car when I saw it, I didn't see anyone." Sid told them and Mac nodded.

"There's no way anyone bleeds like this and gets away on their own," Stella said.

"Stella, Hawkes, start taking photos. Adam get this blood up to the lab, we need to know whose blood this is." They nodded and got to work, knowing that they wouldn’t be leaving any time soon.

"I'll look around Mac," Flack said, "If they left in a car and were in a hurry they might have left skid marks on the road.

Mac nodded at this and said, “Alright, I'm gonna go see how Adam's going with that blood.”

**THE LAB:**

Mac walked up to the lab and saw Adam looking at the screen, worry etched all over his face. Adam looked up as Mac entered the lab; he was upset, that was clear.

"Adam, what've you got?" Adam didn't answer him right away, "Well?" Mac said impatiently.

"The....the blood, it was…" 

"Yes....?" Mac asked him.

"The blood was Danny's" Adam said in a quiet voice. Mac's face paled and he grew serious and scared. Danny, his friend and colleague Danny.

"C'mon, let's go tell the others." Mac said to him and put his hand on Adam's shoulder and steered him out of the office. They got down to the parking lot and walked towards the others slowly. They all looked up from their discussion and froze at the looks on Mac and Adam's faces.

"We found some skid marks that were made from a Volvo; did you get a hit on the blood?" Flack asked them. Adam nodded sadly and looked at Mac.

"The blood was Danny's" Mac said looking at them and their eyes got wide in fear and anguish.

"Danny's?" Stella whispered, "Oh my god."

"Stella I want you to call Lindsay and bring her down here alright. We'll be working on this." Stella nodded her head and left, everyone went inside the building to work on this. They had to find Danny. They had to.

**THE MESSER APARTMENT:**

Lindsay looked at the clock, 11:30. She was worried about Danny, he had called at 9:45 and said he was about to leave. She had assumed when he wasn't home by 10:30 that he had gotten busy with something at work and that he hadn't gotten to call and say he'd be late. But now, now she knew something was wrong. She was about to call his cell when someone knocked on her door. She walked over hoping it was Danny and he had just forgotten his keys. But when she opened it, Stella stood their.

"Hey Stella, what are you doing here?" Lindsay asked confused by her friend’s appearance at her doorstep.

"Lindsay, Danny's been kidnapped, or we think he was, there was blood in the parking lot and it was his. I'm here to take you and Josh down to the office so we can all talk." Lindsay looked at Stella, a thousand things were running through her head, Danny, her Danny, was kidnapped.

"Let me go get Josh," Lindsay said to her and walked down the hall. Stella watched her go and her heart went out to the girl, everything had been so hectic for them. They struggled through a relationship, then Lindsay was assaulted, then Josh came along. Finally things were good for them. They were getting married soon, they had a little boy together, Rikki had left them alone, and Danny and his brother spoke sometimes, and now this had to happen. Stella was brought out of her thought when Lindsay came down the stairs with Josh in her arms; he was wearing pajamas with dinosaurs on them. He was even smaller when he slept than he was when he was awake.

"Here, I'll hold him while you put his shoes on him," Stella said, reaching out and taking Josh out of Lindsay's arms. Lindsay picked up Josh's shoes and slipped them onto his feet, and then she herself bent down and put on her own shoes. Stella stood by her car and waited while Lindsay attached the car seat to the back. Lindsay strapped Josh in, he was still sound asleep then joined Stella in the front. It was a quiet ride there, and they got out in silence and walked up to Mac's office where Mac and the team were waiting for them.


	7. Danny's Holding Place

**DANNY’S HOLDING PLACE:**

Danny groaned as he slowly regained consciousness. He hurt all over. He tried to roll over, but when he did there was a stabbing pain in his side and he bit down on his tongue to keep from screaming. He heard someone walking towards him and then felt a sharp blow to his stomach. This time, he did cry out.

"Good, you're awake," the voice said. It was a man's voice, a man Danny knew.

"I was thinking I'd already killed you, but that wouldn't be any fun now would it?" That voice, if only he could put a face with the voice. Then he thought of it, Sonny Sassone. That was who the voice belonged to, the son of a bitch.

Danny opened his eyes just a crack and saw a big sign outside a window, he knew that sign. He had seen that sign as a child almost everyday. Sonny had brought him to their home town. This was the warehouse Danny and his brother used to play in everyday, they called it their castle, they would say they'd rule the world if they were there.

"You're gonna make a little phone call, but you're not going to tell them who I am or where you are, you do that and you die. I'll also make sure your little boy dies too, and it'll be a painful death for him." Danny had a phone pressed to his ear and heard it ringing, he prayed to god he could find some way to tell them something useful without getting his five month old son killed.

**MAC’S OFFICE:**

Mac, Stella, Lindsay, Adam, Sid, Hawkes, Flack, and Angell were all in Mac's office. They had just finished explaining to Lindsay about what had happened. They had refrained from using Danny's name as much as possible because Josh was in the room. Even though he was only five months, he knew his daddy’s name. He was fast asleep on Flack's lap and had only woken up when the elevator had beeped when they had reached the floor of Mac's office. He had fallen asleep again after he was settled onto his uncle’s lap. It was quiet in the room until someone burst through the door. That someone was Louis Messer.

"Where is he!" he shouted, "Where the hell is my brother? Where's Danny?" Mac stood up, as did the rest of the team, Flack had Josh's head pressed gently against his shoulder and was covering his other ear with his hand so that he wouldn’t hear Louie. He couldn’t hear what Louie was saying but he still woke up and began to cry

"Louie, please, calm down," Mac glanced over at Flack and Josh. Louie followed his gaze and immediately regretted scaring the boy.

"Sorry, I just, I need to know where he is."

"How about you sit down," Mac indicated the seat next to Adam and Louie nodded his head, he sat and so did the team. Once Flack had sat down again Josh started to drift off. He was asleep in a matter of seconds and Louie continued to talk.

"Please, tell me Danny is here." They all looked at him sadly and then Mac spoke.

"Louie, he's been kidnapped, we don't know by whom, and we don't know why. But we're doing all we can to find him." Louie just nodded his head and then said to all of them.

"I got a call, saying Danny had been kidnapped.” When no one spoke, Louie continued. "They called me and said that they had Danny. They said they had him where me and Danny used to spend time as kids. I didn't know if whoever it was had been serious so I came here. I swear I didn't recognize the voice, we gotta find him, we have to find my baby brother."

Louie had tears in his eyes, on the odd occasion that the team had met Danny's older brother he had been a hard ass, Louie had never showed any emotions when they'd met him. This proved that he was completely worried about Danny, Louie Messer was actually scared.

"We will," Hawkes said, "We'll find Danny, we'll find your brother." ring ring ring The ringing of the phone made all of them jump, Mac picked it up.

"Taylor"

"Mac" a very hoarse and pain filled voice said on the other end. Mac put the phone on speaker and said.

"Danny, is that you?" everyone sat up straighter and looked at the phone.

"Yeah," they heard Danny groan in pain, "Please, please help me." Lindsay's eyes filled with tears and Stella put her hand on Lindsay's shoulder.

"Danny where are you?" Mac asked him.

"I....I can't say....he's here, right here," Danny was struggling to breathe, "Me and my brother used to have this place we would go and we called it our castle, said we were gonna rule the world as long as we stayed there. Tell him that for me, will ya?" Danny asked hoping they would do it soon. A new voice came onto the phone and spoke to everyone in the room.

"Goodbye Detective Taylor, that was the last time you'll ever get to hear your CSI's voice." The next thing they all heard was the dial tone. Lindsay had tears running down her face and Stella held her as she cried, whispered words of comfort into her ear.

"Louie, why would Danny say something like that? The one time he has to talk to us a try to tell us something he talks about you two as kids. It had to mean something."

"There was this place in our hometown, we played there everyday, it's like Danny said, we called it our castle and said when we were there we ruled the world." Louie thought for a moment then continued, "It was an old abandoned warehouse on the corner of Hayes and Littly." Mac put the address into his computer and looked at them.

“It's still abandoned and there's a car parked outside it, c'mon, we're going in.” Lindsay stood up and walked out the door with the rest of the team. Louie stood up to follow them but Mac stopped him.

"What?" Louie asked him.

"You stay here with Josh. You'd just sit outside anyway and Josh is too young to go." Mac gave Louie a look and Louie sat down again. Mac left the office and Louie stood up. He walked into the office Danny and Lindsay shared. He walked over the desk that was obviously Danny's, it was way too messy to be Lindsay's desk.  
He looked at the desk and saw that he had a picture of Josh on it, he had to be only a few months in it; a picture of their team, and to Louie’s surprise, there was a picture of the two of them as kids. Louie picked up this picture and looked at it, Danny had his arm over Louie's shoulder and Louie was doing the same with Danny, they were both smiling. He put the picture down and turned around, Josh was still fast asleep. Louie sat down in his brother’s chair and prepared for the wait of his life.


	8. Finding Danny

**OUTSIDE THE WAREHOUSE:**

Mac had never been so worried in his life, Danny was kidnapped and injured and they were on their way out to some warehouse. It was a good lead, but he wished for something a lot more solid.

They had taken two SUVs with Mac, Flack, Hawkes, and Adam in one car and Stella, Lindsay, Angell, and Sid in the other. Sid hadn’t come into the field, but as this was Danny both he and a six months pregnant Angell would be staying in the SUV. They drove in silence to the warehouse, all of them too lost in their thoughts to talk.

“Sid can you wait out here and tell the back up and EMT’s where we are when they get here?” Mac asked and Sid nodded. He and Angell watched as Mac, Flack, Adam, Stella, Hawkes, and Lindsay went inside, praying that Danny would be alright.

**INSIDE THE WAREHOUSE:**

They all moved cautiously, looking around and glancing over their shoulders. It was dark in the warehouse and their eyes were still adjusting, but the darkness did not stop them from hearing. And what they were hearing scared the hell out of all of them.

“You got me arrested! You and that damn Mac Taylor! You took away my freedom, now I’m gonna take away yours by killing you! Now, I know I said that as long as you didn’t tell anyone where you were or who I am that I wouldn’t harm your little brat. But guess what? I lied!” They heard him say this and then they heard Danny’s voice.

“You son of a bitch, if you go anywhere near him I swear to god I will-”

“What? Kill me? Good luck seeing as you’ll already be dead.”

“Freeze NYPD!” Mac shouted as he, Stella, Lindsay, Flack, Adam, and Hawkes all moved out from their cover holding their guns pointed at Sonny. He turned and looked at them, shock clearly written across his face. However, he wasn’t about to go down without a fight and pointed his gun at Adam, finger on the trigger. Before he could pull it, Mac fired, the bullet piercing his stomach. Both Sonny and his gun hit the ground as they all ran over. Stella kicked Sonny’s gun away from him, but Lindsay had eyes only for Danny.

“Danny, Danny can you hear me?” Lindsay murmured and Danny moaned.

“Montana?”

“Yeah, it’s me, you’re gonna be okay. We’re going to get you to a hospital and everything will be fine.” All Danny could do was groan. He was trying to concentrate on Lindsay’s voice, but he was fading in and out of consciousness. Then he heard another voice and even though he was out of it, what was being said was very clear.

“You son of a bitch, Mac Taylor. I may not have killed your CSI but I will be the death of his little boy.”

“That gonna be pretty hard when you’re locked in Rikers,” Mac said to him. Sonny opened his mouth to retort, but all that came out was a choked gasp. Blood sprayed out as he coughed and Mac put pressure on his wound to try and stop the bleeding. However, it was no use. Sonny took one last breath and then his eyes stared unseeingly at Mac. The team seemed to release a collective breath. Danny, Lindsay, and Josh were all safe now, but death seemed to be far too easy an escape for Sonny Sassone.

Footsteps approached from behind, signaling the EMTs had arrived. Danny was loaded onto a stretcher and wheeled out to an ambulance, Lindsay not letting go of his hand. They had almost made it to the hospital when he drifted off into a deep sleep.

**THE HOSPITAL:**

They were all sitting in the hospital room waiting for someone to tell them what was going on. Louie had arrived shortly after Danny was brought in and was now sitting next to Lindsay in an uncomfortable plastic chair. Josh was sitting contently in his mother’s lap, playing with the hem of her shirt when the doctor walked into the waiting room.

“How is he?” Mac asked as they all stood.

“He’s going to be fine. He has some broken ribs and a concussion, a broken arm and several lacerations, but I do believe that he will make a full recovery. He is awake if you would like to go see him. I got the feeling that he didn’t like hospitals so it might be easier if someone was there with him.”  
“He’s always hated hospitals, ever since we were kids.” Louie said to them.

“Well he’s in room 306 if you’d like to go see him.” They thanked the doctor and then headed down the hall toward Danny’s room. Lindsay looked at them and then pushed the door open. Danny was lying in the bed, his face swollen. When the door opened, he turned to face them and smiled widely.

“Hey,” he said and Lindsay could tell he was trying to be brave in front of the team. She sat down in the chair next to his bed, scared that if she actually sat next to him she would hurt him. But Danny didn’t really care if it hurt because he looked at Lindsay hopefully and she placed Josh on his lap. The others had followed Lindsay into the room and Danny turned to look at them.

“What happened to Sonny?” he asked looking at Mac as Josh played with the sheet of the bed.

“He’s dead. He won’t be able to hurt you or anyone else on this team ever again. He’ll never get his hands on Josh.” Danny nodded and then he saw his brother who was standing behind them all and looked at the others.

“We should go,” Stella said, “We’ll give you guys some time alone.”

“I’m going to go get some water, do you want anything?” Lindsay asked Danny.

“No thanks,” Danny said, “Me and Josh are good.” Lindsay left the brothers alone, leaving Josh where he had fallen asleep on Danny’s chest.

He shook his head and Lindsay left, leaving Danny and Louie to talk. 

“So….” Louie said.

“Yeah, so….”

“Gosh Danny, I’ve never been so worried or scared in my life. When I got that call saying that someone had kidnapped you so many things went through my mind. I thought you were dead and then I thought that it was joke but I realized it wasn’t and all I could think was that you could be dead and I don’t think I could’ve taken it if you had been.” Danny stared at his brother as he said this; Louie had never expressed any emotion towards him since he was ten. Now here he was telling him how scared he had been.

“I didn’t care if he killed me,” Danny said finally. When he saw the shocked look on Louie’s face he continued.

“It’s not that I want to die, but I’d rather he killed me than Josh. He told me he was going to kill him and I could never let that happen to this little guy. He’s everything to me.” Danny said looking down and Josh who had his hand gripping Danny shirt.

“Yeah,” Louie said absently, “But you know that I would never have let him get his hands on your little boy, right? You know I would’ve done whatever I could to protect him and Lindsay, they’re family now and Messer’s stick together.”

“Thanks Louie, and yeah I know.”

“Alright, good. Well, I should go too. I’ll see you later okay? And hey, I know you hate hospitals, but no worries, nothing’s going to happen.” Danny smiled and nodded as Louie left the room. About five minutes later Lindsay came back and saw that Danny had fallen asleep with his arm around Josh. She sat down in the chair and looked at him. He was alright. Danny was going to come home and help take care of Josh. He wasn’t dead, he was still Danny. Sarcastic, smart ass Danny, and she wouldn’t have him any other way.


	9. Epilogue

It had been exactly one month since Danny had been kidnapped. Since then, everything had been perfect. Josh was now six months old and had grown so much in such a short period of time. Stella was now six months along in her pregnancy and Reed was officially Mac and Stella’s son. Everyone had been thrilled to find out that they were adopting him. They had been hesitant at first with a baby on the way, but there was no doubt that Reed belonged with them. Angell was almost at her due date and they were getting very excited to meet their son who Angell had told Lindsay was going to be named Wes.

Danny and Lindsay were walking through the park with their son. They stopped next to the sandbox and Danny got Josh out of the stroller. The park was empty except for them which meant the young couple could focus solely on their baby and not worry about other kids stepping on his small hands. They watched Josh pile the sand onto his lap and smile in delight as it slipped through his fingers.

 _‘Yes,’_ Lindsay thought, _‘Everything was perfect.’_


End file.
